


Hostage in Love

by allyarra



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - No Hale Fire, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-12
Updated: 2012-12-12
Packaged: 2017-11-20 22:49:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/590519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allyarra/pseuds/allyarra
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The one where Derek is a SWAT officer and Stiles is the newest hostage negotiator.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hostage in Love

**Author's Note:**

> I have no knowledge of SWAT procedures or hostage negotiation procedures, everything I know comes from way too much television.

The first time Derek sees Stilinski all he can think is ‘you have got to be kidding me’ because there was no way this kid could be the hotshot that everyone seemed to think he was. He barely looked old enough to get into a bar, let alone talk someone out of killing themselves and taking a bunch of hostages with them. In fact, Derek would be surprised if he didn’t get carded every time he tried to buy alcohol. So no, Derek was actually not excited about the new negotiator despite what everyone else seemed to be feeling. Derek was actually more than a little annoyed to find himself disappointed with the new guy just based on his looks alone.

Then he went and opened his mouth and Derek’s impression of him got impossibly worse because Derek was about ready to throw himself off a building just to be able to get away from him. They’d known each other for all of about five minutes and already Stilinski had made three wisecracks that might have McCall cracking up but were really starting to wear Derek’s patience thin, and Derek didn’t actually have that much patience to begin with.

Alright, that was a bit of a lie because you didn’t get to be Captain of the best SWAT team in Northern California without at least a lot of patience for your job. That was different though, because then it was about waiting for the right moment, waiting and watching to make sure that you kept the worst possible scenario from playing out. In this case it was listening to Stiles Stilinski say the most absurd things that came to his mind and trying not to strangle the kid because it was his first day, he would learn.

So Derek gave him a look and walked away, leaving McCall and Stilinski to their quickly developing friendship. Their connection is so instantaneous and complete that it makes Derek want to throw up just a little bit because of all the feelings involved and because he’s pretty sure that Erica, Lydia, and Allison will be cooing over it later. They might even drag Isaac into it and if that happens then Derek really really needs to find another team because his is full of irrational and emotional teenagers.

Derek goes to the gym and starts running, hoping that by the time this amazingly long and uneventful shift is over he’ll have actually worked off his frustration. His therapist encourages this activity but every time he sees her she still tells him that he needs to talk too. He thinks that he just hasn’t run long enough and fast enough yet to outrun his problems. It’s a work in progress, this emotional healing thing, but at least he’s gotten to the point where he didn’t threaten to kill Stilinski in order to shut him up. In fact, Derek thought he’d been rather welcoming and solicitous. He’d even managed a smile.

 

* * *

 

 

About two minutes into his new job and Stiles is already sure that Captain Hale already hates him, especially given the grimace he’d given upon being introduced to Stiles. Which is fine with Stiles because Captain Sourface isn’t actually his boss, just his colleague, so it’s not like he’s going to fire Stiles. Plus, Scott’s awesome and they have a bro connection to end all bro connections. It’s kind of awesome. Not to mention that the dispatcher, Lydia Martin, is possibly the most gorgeous girl he’s ever seen and is totally his type. Considering his type is gorgeous, out of his league, and a little bit mean he should probably not think about the fact that Captain Sourface is also his type with a capital T.

****

* * *

****

Derek is pretty sure that Stiles is the stupidest nickname he’s ever heard and for years his sister called him Der-bear. She still calls him that occasionally, but only when she’s extra annoyed with him or extra happy with him, the trick is figuring out which emotion she’s feeling based on which syllable she emphasizes. Laura’s weird like that, but still not as weird as Stiles, who waxed poetic over video games the other day and apparently has no idea how straws work.

He hadn’t even known someone’s face could contort like that, let alone while sucking something (and no, he’s not going to contemplate the other, not work appropriate images that come with that thought and the sight of Stiles’ rosebud lips). It’s like everything to do with mouths and Stiles just do not work together the right way because his mouth is the reason why Stiles is constantly in the doghouse with Harris, who Derek thinks is just pissed because he lost the promotion and doesn’t have any direct control over any of them. That lack of direct control is probably the only reason that Stiles still has a job, despite the fact that Stiles is good at his job.

Okay, so he’s actually amazing at his job. It’s like when he opens his mouth to talk to the subject he becomes a completely new person. Sometimes he’s serious, sometimes he’s hilarious, sometimes he’s compassionate, and sometimes he’s a complete hardass. It’s become one of Derek’s favorite things to do when he’s on the job with Stiles to try and guess which disguise he’s going to put on, using only his voice and his words.

If he finds himself occasionally talking to his therapist about Stiles, well, that’s because suddenly it seems as if he’s spending a lot of time with him. It’s not his fault, he doesn’t go out of his way to interact with Stiles, but it just seems as if Stiles is suddenly appearing around him all the time. He even managed to show up when Derek went on a one in the morning run to the grocery store because Laura demanded tampons and considered Derek her personal slave (unfortunately Derek almost always obeys her demands so she’s kind of right).

“Oh, Derek!” Stiles says, well, more like gasps in surprise. He’s looking at Derek with wide eyes which dart down to the box of tampons that he’s holding and Derek really wishes that the ground would open up around him. It’s not that he’s embarrassed to be seen buying tampons, he has three sisters, he got over that long ago, but the fact that it’s Stiles suddenly makes a huge difference.

“Stiles,” he responds and tells the other man that he got sent out on an emergency run for his sister, who claims that she’s dying and that if he didn’t buy her chocolate, midol, and tampons right that minute he’d regret it. She hadn’t even said how he’d regret it but he lives in healthy fear of Laura’s retribution so the elaboration hadn’t been necessary in any case. What actually comes out is a big fat nothing, like he can’t even get the words out.

Stiles just kind of smiles nervously and shifts from foot to foot. Derek opens his mouth to try and get that explanation out but is stopped because just then Scott appears, looking for Stiles, and of course he would show up. Of course he would be with Stiles because the two of them are apparently twins who were separated at birth.

“Stiles, what’s taking so long?” he demands, skidding to a halt just in front of the display of reese’s. “Derek! What are you doing here?” and once again Derek is left wondering how Scott makes such a good SWAT officer when so often he misses things that are right in front of his face. He chalks it up to Scott choosing to pay attention to only those things he deems important, the obvious not generally being one of those things.

Derek doesn’t even have to think about his response, just says “shopping” in the dryest voice he can manage and somehow that inspires a grin in Stiles. A grin that does not make Derek’s stomach feel just a little bit strange, not at all.

“Laura threaten you again?” Scott asks and there’s the intelligent officer that Derek works with.

“She told me I’d regret it if I didn’t go, no direct threats, just regret.”

Scott winces at that, he’s worked with Derek long enough to know his sister fairly well, especially considering how close his family is after Derek’s crazy ex tried to burn them alive, so of course Scott knows his family pretty well. Frankly, it’s a little surprising that Stiles has yet to meet Derek’s family considering they’ve already been working together for almost two months.

“Good choice,” Scott says and that’s all that needs to be said. The three of them share a nod and Derek’s a little weirded out by Stiles’ silence but shrugs it off. He really needs to get back home before Laura decides to do something drastic. The last time he’d taken too long he’d returned to their shared apartment to discover glitter everywhere. He still occasionally finds some lurking in the nooks and crannies.

****

* * *

****

Stiles watches Derek leave, heart still somewhere in the vicinity of his stomach. Of course the guy with the body of a greek god has a girlfriend he’s devoted to enough that he buys her tampons at one in the morning. Stiles doesn’t even know why he ever thought he had a chance.

“Laura is the scariest person I have ever met, including Lydia. I am so glad she is not my sister,” Scott says, slapping Stiles on the back and suddenly Stiles’ heart is in the right place again.

She’s his sister. His sister, not his girlfriend, he thinks and then thanks god that his assumption was corrected before he ever said anything out loud. His life was already enough of a romantic comedy considering he’s in love with a colleague that’s out of his league without that cliche coming into it too.

****

* * *

****

Eventually one of the negotiations had to go wrong, because Stiles is not a god, he cannot stop everything from happening, and Derek has to pull the trigger. He’s always glad when he’s the one who pulls the actual trigger because no matter how much you try and think about the fact that you’re saving lives by doing so, you’re still taking a life. You’re still killing someone’s son or daughter, someone’s brother, someone’s mother, and it’s not something you just shrug off. Derek’s grateful when he gets to shoulder that burden instead of someone else on his team because he knows he can handle it.

Sure he knows that they can too, otherwise they’d never have this job, but he doesn’t like to have to watch them do so. He doesn’t expect to find Stiles in the locker room later, sitting by himself, head bowed, silent. The younger man looks so defeated in that moment, as if the weight of the world is pressing down into his shoulders and he’s lost the strength to carry it, that Derek forgets about his own guilt for a moment, because, for the first time, he remembers that he had to pull the trigger because Stiles failed.

“Stiles,” he sighs and trails off, not knowing what to say. Stiles just looks up at him, strangely golden eyes drilling into his own. He clears his throat once, twice, and still Stiles doesn’t look away.

Finally Stiles is the one to speak up. “I’m sorry,” he says and Derek’s guilt is eased just a little, even though he knows it shouldn’t be, but it’s like for the first time he realizes he might have pulled the trigger, but he’s not the only one who was involved in the subject’s death.

Derek doesn’t know what to say because he can’t say that it’s not Stiles’ fault, because in a sick way it kind of is. Stiles was the one who was supposed to make Derek’s job unnecessary and today he’d failed. Derek can’t say ‘I’m sorry’ because it’s not something that he can apologize for, there’s nothing for Derek to apologize to Stiles for.

In the end he settles for sitting down next to Stiles, their shoulders just brushing together, just close enough so that Stiles can feel his presence, and saying “I know.”

****

* * *

****

Stiles knows that it’s impossible to save everyone, that sometimes things will go wrong no matter what you do, no matter how good you are. You can’t predict everything, you can’t know how people will react, you can only guess. It doesn’t stop him from feeling guilty and small and alone when he fails but then Derek sits down next to him and just says a quiet “I know” and suddenly Stiles isn’t as alone as he’d felt just a few seconds ago.

****

* * *

****

Laura is the one that tells the rest of the family about Stiles because she knows that Derek never will. By then she’s met Stiles numerous times, actually she has his number and they’re known to text each other regularly. Derek doesn’t like to think about what they might discuss, especially considering the times at work when Stiles will suddenly look up from his phone and just stare at Derek with an expression that Derek can’t quite work out but suspects is Stiles trying to keep from laughing at him.

His mom just sighs and goes “oh, honey” and gives him a hug and for the life of him he can’t figure out why. Stiles is a friend, possibly his best friend, okay definitely his best friend, but not exactly someone that should make his mom go all soft and sad on him. She only does that when it’s Kate related, which means whenever he might have romantic inclinations so she’s obviously seeing something that’s not there and he tells her so. She just exchanges a look with Laura that makes him beat a hasty retreat because really, he talks abouts his feelings enough with his therapist as it is, he doesn’t need to talk about his feelings with his family too.

What he needs least of all is his Uncle Peter’s advice because Peter is awesome, his favorite uncle really, but Peter is also possibly a little unhinged and likes to call Derek with advice while Derek is at work. “You should really just corner him and kiss him, make your intentions known, people like that.”

“Peter, I am not going to kiss Stiles,” he says and then hears the strangled noise from behind him. He closes his eyes in horror for a moment because he really, really did not need this today of all days. “I am hanging up now, I will talk to you later. Goodbye,” he says, very deliberately, before pocketing his phone and turning to face his doom.

Of course it’s Stiles standing right behind him, staring at him with huge round eyes and a very stunned expression. He’s got his own phone out and Derek is more than willing to be that the person he’s texting right now is Laura because that is just the way that his life works.

“I can explain,” he says, a little desperately, trying to get it out before Stiles snaps out of his horrified shock. “My Uncle Peter, he gets these crazy ideas sometimes and I...” Derek trails off, because Stiles is still just standing there, staring at him. “You were really not supposed to overhear that.”

“So you’re really not going to kiss me?” Stiles asks, in a tone that Derek can’t decipher and he’s made a habit of studying Stiles’ tones. “I’m an excellent kisser, just so you know. I can even give you references if you want.”

Derek is so relieved that his entire body feels boneless. Stiles isn’t going to disappear, he’s not creeped out, he’s making a joke. Derek recognizes this tone, it’s the one he uses when he’s teasing Derek and Derek might actually feel like crying in relief.

“Thanks but you can keep those references to yourself, or maybe you should share them with Lydia and she’ll finally give you a chance.”

“Low blow, dude, low blow,” Stiles responds with his easy grin and Derek knows that the disaster is over.

Derek smiles back and takes a few steps forward to clap Stiles on the shoulder. “The truth hurts sometimes,” he says before continuing on to the conference room. They had a meeting in five minutes that he did not want to be late for, especially not because of Peter’s bad-timing. “Are you coming?” he calls over his shoulder and hides his smile as Stiles rushes to catch up with him.

“I will have you know that Lydia Martin is a goddess and simply takes more convincing than mere mortals,” he says with a sniff, nose up in the air. Derek lets out a little laugh and bumps shoulders with Stiles, the sudden lack of the adrenaline that had been coursing through his system leaving him feeling a little giddy. He watches the way that Stiles smiles at his laughter out of the corner of his eyes and doesn’t miss the way that Stiles’ body language is a little more defensive than usual.

He chalks it up to the discussion of Lydia Martin, Stiles always gets a little weird when that subject comes up.

****

* * *

****

So Derek has actually stated that he does not want to kiss Stiles, okay, so he actually said he wasn’t going to, but still, semantics. And maybe he thinks that Stiles is in love with Lydia, who, while admittedly is actually a goddess in human form, he has never been in love with. Sure, he had a massive crush for like the first month he was here, but for some reason that hadn’t lasted long. The reason being that there was a certain handsome SWAT Captain who seemed to occupy all of his thoughts. He really needed to talk with Laura because she was the queen of deciphering everything Derek, which was possibly the most confusing and intriguing subject he’d ever come across.

****

* * *

****

‘It is ridiculous how in love with your brother I am’

‘preaching to the choir here babe’

‘his face is ridiculous too’

‘you’re the one who is in love with him. I’m just related to him’

Derek is apparently the epitome of the saying ignorance is bliss because he really wants to go back to being ignorant. He wishes that he’d never given into his curiosity, had never taken Stiles’s phone, because then he wouldn’t be in this situation. This situation which he has no idea how to handle, probably wouldn’t know how to handle even if Kate had never wrecked him because how do you react when you find out that your best friend is in love with you?

So he’s just standing there, Stiles’ phone held loosely in his hand, staring at the other man, who can’t even look him in the eyes. Stiles is looking everywhere except right at him and it would be driving Derek mad but he doesn’t know how to react to this. His entire brain is kind of fried, stuck on the idea that Stiles isn’t in love with Lydia, that Stiles is actually in love with him. Which is actually kind of a huge deal that he can’t quite wrap his mind around.

“So that’s why Laura keeps giving me those looks” is what he finally says and he really wants to kick himself because even he knows that that is not the appropriate response. It’s just too bad that that’s apparently the only response he can give.

Stiles gives this kind of strangled laugh, that sounds more like a sob, and finally looks up. He’s holding back as much as he can, Derek can see that, but it doesn’t help all that much. Derek can still see the embarrassment and the hurt that he can’t quite hide and once again Derek is at a loss.

Emotions are not something he is good at, it’s why Stiles is the negotiator and he’s the one with the cool metal in his hands, and now he’s stuck. He’s stuck with this problem and he doesn’t know how to solve it because there’s no guidelines, there are no rules to dealing with this. All he can do is muddle through it and hope that in the end maybe he’ll be able to keep Stiles’ friendship because he might not know exactly what to do, but he does know that he doesn’t want to lose Stiles.

“Yeah, that’s why Laura’s been giving you looks,” Stiles finally says and Derek can hear the strangled emotions in his voice the same way he can see them on his face. “So now you know what we’re always texting about,” he adds and for a second Derek can’t figure out what he meant.

Then he remembers what started this, his teasing about Laura and Stiles being texting buddies, then stealing Stiles’ phone so that he could look through the messages, and then actually seeing them, seeing what he’d been purposely ignoring for months. Now there’s no way to pretend he hasn’t seen, to write this off as misinterpreting the situation, as he’s done countless times before.

“Stiles, I...” he says and then the words get caught in his throat and he’s just left standing there, mouth open like an idiot. Stiles flushes red and ducks his head again. He reaches out and snatches his phone from Derek’s hand and Derek has to stop himself from flinching when their hands brush together.

“We don’t have to talk about it, it’s fine,” Stiles tells the floor. “I’ll just go now and we’ll just ignore each other next time we see each other, I can be professional, don’t worry.”

This is the opposite of what Derek wants, he knows that, even though he’s not sure what exactly it is he wants, and his heart jumps into his throat when Stiles turns to go. Stiles makes it about three steps before Derek can make his voice work and says “Stiles, wait.”

Stiles pauses in the doorway, his back to Derek and Derek forces the words out. “Look, you’re my best friend and while I might not feel the same way I don’t want to lose you.”

The silence hangs heavy between them for a long moment as they both stay frozen where they stand before Stiles turns to look over his shoulder at Derek, flashing him a smile that looks more like a grimace. “I don’t want to lose you either,” he says and Derek’s heart beat slows for the first time since he saw those texts. “I just can’t be around you right now, I’ve got to go nurse my pride alone for awhile.”

Derek’s not stupid, for once his head is not stuck in the sand, he knows that by ‘pride’ Stiles really means ‘broken heart’ and it’s all Derek can do to nod in return. “I’ll see you around,” Stiles says and then he really does leave, the door swinging shut behind him and then Derek’s standing all alone in the empty room.

****

* * *

****

Stiles hides in the empty conference room, sitting in the corner and banging his head against the wall, trying not to feel like a complete failure and loser in general. He’d known that Derek shouldn’t find out about his feelings, he’d discussed it with Laura in depth, he should have kept his phone away from Derek. No, he should have just deleted those freaking texts and then he wouldn’t be in this situation, wouldn’t be trying to salvage a friendship that’s so much less than what he really wants.

****

* * *

****

Derek is pretty sure he’s never felt this awkward around anyone before and he’s practically the kind of awkward interactions according to Laura. Everything had been so easy with Stiles, their friendship had felt like the most natural thing in the world, and now it’s in shreds at his feet. He feels like a complete failure even though he knows that he’s done the best he could with what he has.

It’s just that he feels like maybe he should have done something or said something that would just make everything better, would just completely change the situation, maybe he could have even kept it from happening at all.

Stiles barely says anything to him at all, except when he has to, and Derek’s entire team can tell something’s off and they’re blaming it on him. Derek welcomes the blame because really, it’s his fault anyway. All Stiles did was fall in love with him, Derek’s the one who can’t deal with positive emotions, as his therapist is so fond of telling him. Dr. Deaton has certainly been getting a lot of mileage out of this incident in the past few sessions and Derek’s pretty sure the man is secretly reveling in Derek’s pain behind his calm exterior.

The other day Isaac had glared at him and refused to hand over his report until Derek had raised an eyebrow and given him a look. Isaac had handed over the report, but he’d continued to glower at Derek. Erica had even taken to making pointed comments and sitting next to Stiles as often as she could, especially if she knew Derek was going to be there. Boyd, at least, was mature and acted as if nothing had changed. Derek knew that there was a reason why Boyd was his favorite.

His second in command, on the other hand, was firmly on Stiles’ side. Not that Derek had expected any differently because Stiles and Scott were such good friends they were practically brothers (something that made Derek twinge in jealously occasionally). Derek considered himself lucky that he hadn’t actually had a real mutiny on his hands considering how in love with Stiles his entire team seemed to be.

Derek leaned back against the lockers and closed his eyes, trying to enjoy the silence of the empty room. Of course, that’s when the door swung open and he could tell without even opening his eyes that it was Stiles standing in the doorway. “Oh, Derek, sorry, I’ll, um,” Stiles kind of stutters out and Derek finds himself longing for the ease with which Stiles would have teased him for being alone in the locker room with his eyes closed just a few short weeks ago.

“No, it’s fine,” Derek says, finally opening his eyes and starting to climb to his feet. “I was just going anyway.”

He doesn’t want to go, not really. He wants to stay and talk to Stiles, wants to explain, but no matter how much time goes by he still can’t seem to find the right words. It doesn’t help that Derek doesn’t even know what he wants from Stiles, he only knows that he wants Stiles.

“Derek,” Stiles starts to say and Derek feels a thrill go through him at the sound of his name on Stiles’ lips, the first time he’s heard it in weeks, but then the alarm goes off and their eyes meet, both knowing exactly what this means.

“We’ll talk later,” Derek promises and Stiles gives him the first genuine smile that Derek’s seen since the incident.

****

* * *

****

Just the thought of the promised talk with Derek later makes Stiles feel like he’s floating. He knows he shouldn’t expect much from it, knows just how emotionally stunted Derek is, but for the first time in weeks he feels like he has some hope. It’s a wonderful feeling and it carries him through prep and the ride over to the bank where a subject has wired a bomb to himself. Finally, finally, Stiles has something to look forward to.

****

* * *

****

The whole world feels like it’s been narrowed to sound of Stiles’ voice in his ear and his view through the scope of his gun, into the bank where the only people still there are Stiles and the unstable subject strapped to a live bomb. He’s so wrapped up in the tension and the sheer mind-numbing terror that he can’t even understand how Stiles even got into this situation. He knows, intellectually, that Stiles traded himself for the hostages, but that doesn’t make sense to him right now.

Nothing makes sense to him right now besides the fact that Stiles is trying to talk down a direct threat to his own life and Derek is helpless. He’s helpless to save Stiles because the only thing he can do is shoot a damn gun and even that is useless right now because if he shoots this guy then there’s a very good chance the bomb would blow and take Stiles out right along with the subject. Derek wasn’t even this helpless all those years ago, when Kate tried to burn his family alive, but now he can’t do anything.

It’s eating him alive, the feeling of helplessness and that’s when he knows. He knows that he’s been in love with Stiles all this time, since the first time he’d grinned that stupid grin at Derek and made a terrible joke. Derek is hopelessly in love with Stiles, has been for months, and now he’s going to lose Stiles without ever getting to tell him. And oh, that thought hurts, because if only Derek had pulled his head out of his ass they’d have had these past three weeks together, instead of three weeks of loneliness and regret.

Derek has to blink away the tears, has to get himself under control, because this is is his job and he has to be ready. If he gets the shot he’s been cleared to shoot, even though Stiles is still trying to talk this guy down and right now Derek’s pretty sure he’s never been more torn over whether he wants Stiles to talk the guy down or if he wants to shoot the bastard. He’s pretty sure he’s leaning towards Stiles talking the guy down only because that has the highest probability of Stiles’ survival and ultimately that’s what Derek wants.

He wants Stiles to live, to walk away from this, so that he can tell the stupid man that he’s in love with him.

So Derek stays where he is, staring through the scope of his gun while Stiles does what he does best. Normally Derek likes to listen to what Stiles is saying, to hear what Stiles is trying to do, but this time he can’t process it. All he can hear is the sound of Stiles’ voice, a steady reminder that Stiles is still alive.

He can feel the tension in Scott’s body right next to his but he pays it no heed. Of course Scott is tense, that’s his best friend in there, but it’s also possibly the love of Derek’s life. And of course, of course Derek would figure that out only now, when Stiles’ life is in danger because Derek is just that dense that it takes life threatening situations to realize what’s obvious to everyone else.

He’s pretty sure that he’s not breathing, but doesn’t fully understand that until suddenly Stiles is motioning the bomb squad forward and they’re pulling the bomb off the guy and disarming it. Then his lungs take in a full measure of air and the light headed feeling he gets isn’t only from relief.

He watches as Stiles makes a joke with the bomb squad, who all laugh, while the subject scowls, but it doesn’t matter because the bomb’s gone, Stiles is safe. Derek almost looks away from his scope, almost turns away, but then the subject is breaking free and pulling a gun from his boot.

The guy shouts something, Derek doesn’t even know what, and he’s pointing the gun right at Stiles, finger on the trigger and Derek doesn’t think, he just shoots. There’s a scream and commotion as the subject goes down, a small hole in his forehead and brains flying out the back of his head. Stiles glances at the dead man quickly before looking up at Derek, face white. He nods and Derek has to hide how badly his hands shake as he lowers his gun and hands it off to Scott.

Derek has to follow protocol, has to go through the standard interviews to make sure that he made the right call, that he wasn’t trigger happy, and by the time it’s done it’s been hours.

Hours since he last saw Stiles, hours since he realized the most important thing in his entire life. He goes to the locker room because that’s all the thinking he can do, mind too preoccupied with everything he’s happened and he supposes he shouldn’t be surprised at all to find Stiles in there, waiting for him.

It always seems to come back to this room, after all. This is where they first met, where Derek had found out that Stiles loved him, where they’d last talked. It was fitting that this should happen here, of all places.

Stiles stands when he sees Derek come into the room and opens his mouth to say something but Derek’s feet are already carrying him across the room, to right in front of Stiles. It’s like his brain is on autopilot as he reaches up with one hand to cup Stiles’ cheek and places the other on his waist as he draws the other man in close, their lips meeting in a gentle kiss. Derek’s eyes close for a moment as he savors this kiss, savors the feeling of Stiles’ lips beneath his own, the feel of his skin under Derek’s rough palm.

And then Derek opens his eyes and pulls away, leaving his hands exactly where they are. Stiles’ eyes don’t open for a long moment, but when they do they meet Derek’s and gaze into them, questioning. Derek doesn’t know what he’s looking for but evidently he found it because then he’s grinning and wrapping his arms around Derek, pulling him in for a second, not so gentle, kiss.

****

* * *

****

Stiles is pretty sure that he could die right this moment and die happily, which is not something he’d been thinking just a few hours ago, when he’d been in mortal danger and at the back of his mind he’d been thinking of Derek. And then Derek had pulled that trigger, had saved Stiles’ life, and suddenly the world was even more full of possibilities than it had been just moments before. But now, now he’s not hopeful, now he’s happy, euphoric even. This, right now, is everything he’s been dreaming of for months and so much more.

He wants to laugh, but that would mean pulling away from Derek, from his sinful mouth and Stiles isn’t sure that he has the willpower to do that. So he runs his hands up Derek’s back, feeling the strong muscles there, and then digs them in, pulling the other man even closer. Derek’s hot hand slips beneath Stiles’ jeans to cup his ass and Stiles moans into the kiss, unable to even comprehend just how good that feels, just how long he’s been waiting for this moment.

****

* * *

****

Derek wakes the next morning and is more than a little surprised to find his bed empty, although when he reaches out to touch the space that Stiles had been occupying when they fell asleep he’s gratified to find that it’s still warm. He stretches for a moment, loving the soreness that seems to encompass his entire body before climbing out of bed and finding a pair of lounge pants to pull on.

He follows the smell of breakfast into the kitchen where he’s not all surprised to find Stiles manning the stove while Laura sits at the counter, sipping coffee. A spike of lust shoots through him as he realizes that the t-shirt and sweatpants that Stiles is wearing belong to him. Laura shoots him a sly grin and he’s pretty sure that she knows exactly the kind of thoughts he’s having right now, none of which should be known by your sister.

“Morning, sleepyhead,” Stiles says, turning to give Derek a grin and Derek can’t keep himself from taking the few steps more to drop a kiss on Stiles’ lips, one that makes Laura snort into her coffee.

“Good morning,” Derek rumbles, kissing Stiles again, who abandons the bacon so that he can turn and wrap his arms around Derek.

“Oh, get a room,” Laura complains and Derek flips her the bird, making her laugh.

**Author's Note:**

> [Alyse](alyseofwonderland.tumblr.com) gets special thanks as my motivator, the reason why I've already finished this, because I wrote this in five hours tonight and I'm still not sure how or why. But here it is.


End file.
